Social Innovator Consultants

Each December the Social Innovation Forum brings on a set of consultants to support the new cohort of Social Innovators through the first phase of our nonprofit accelerator. Each consultant is matched with a Social Innovator organization and works closely with the organization's leader to develop a two-year plan for growth, create a four-page investment prospectus, and craft a five-minute pitch to be delivered at the May Social Innovator Showcase.

Kerry Bowie

Kerry Bowie (he/him/his) is a new Social Innovator Consultant as of 2018. When not working with the Social Innovation Forum, he is co-founder and managing partner of a social impact consulting firm. Kerry works at the nexus of social, economic, and environmental justice and has more than 20 years of experience in private, public, and nonprofit management. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in environmental engineering from MIT and the University of Michigan, respectively, as well as an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Bernadette Brewer

Bernadette Brewer (she/her/hers) has been a Social Innovator Consultant since 2018. She is currently the Executive Director of the Presentation School Foundation Community Center in Brighton. With over 25 years in the field of nonprofit human service management and public administration, she actively collaborates and consults with groups and organizations in areas of social justice, organization and program development, as well as community organizing and policy advocacy. She holds an MPA and MS in Criminal Justice from Suffolk University and is a 2018 graduate of the TSNE Emergent Consultants Training Program.

L. Soul Brown

L. Soul Brown (she/her/hers) has been a Social Innovator Consultant since 2018. Outside of the Social Innovation Forum, she directs a grants office for a community college, developing its diverse portfolio of public and private funding. Soul has extensive experience leading grassroots nonprofits and cultural projects that focus on youth development, arts education, and social justice organizing. She volunteers with local school- and community-based racial equity committees. She holds an MPA from Framingham State University and BA in English from Tufts University and is a 2016 graduate of the TSNE Emerging Consultants Training Program.

Alissa Farber

Alissa Farber (she/her/hers) has been a Social Innovator Consultant since 2015. Alissa has almost 20 years of professional and pro-bono experience with Boston's public schools, small businesses, and local and national nonprofit organizations. Outside of her work with SIF, Alissa is Principal Consultant with Positively Partners, a social enterprise committed to helping organizations and schools achieve exceptional performance from their employees. Alissa holds degrees from Wesleyan University, Harvard University and is a certified Executive Coach.

Helena Hartnett

Helena Hartnett (she/her/hers) has been a Social Innovator Consultant since 2017. Based in SouthCoast Massachusetts, she is a management and fundraising consultant to not-for-profits, with a special interest in expanding access to arts and culture. Her expertise includes strategic planning, capital campaigns, board development, team-building, and communications. Prior to joining The Jeremiah Group LLC in 2011, she headed the advancement efforts at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the New Bedford Whaling Museum, and Lasell College during periods of institutional transformation. Her first career was as an editor at Houghton Mifflin. She is a graduate of Smith College.

Danielle Klainberg

Danielle E. Klainberg (she/her/hers) has been a consultant with SIF since 2018. She has nearly thirty years of experience in organizational capacity-building and nonprofit fundraising. As the founder and principal of D.E.K. Consulting, Danielle offers a robust set of services: institutional and major individual funders, non-profit management, capital campaigns, strategic planning, leadership/board development, program design and evaluation, and staff coaching/training. Danielle holds a master’s degree from the Columbia University School of International & Public Affairs and a B.A. in Sociology and Latin American Studies from Brandeis University.

Margaret Leipsitz

Margaret Leipsitz (she/her/hers) has been a Social Innovator Consultant since 2016. She has over thirty years of experience partnering with community, nonprofit, corporate, and foundation leaders to set goals, measure results, and create stronger organizations. Recognized for helping teams work more collaboratively, her primary focus has been in the area of youth development, education, age-friendly planning, and workforce development. Prior to establishing ML Consulting, Margaret worked at Root Cause Consulting, Putnam Investments, BELL (Building Educated Leaders for Life), The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, The Boston Foundation, and The Boston Children’s Museum. A graduate of the University of Michigan, she studied urban education.

Amanda Martinez

Amanda Martinez (she/her/hers) has been a Social Innovator Consultant since 2018. Amanda has over 18 years of experience driving continuous improvement and leveraging best practices across corporate and non-profit organizations. Prior to her current role as a Diversity and Organizational Development Consultant, she was the Executive Director of the Latino STEM Alliance. Amanda is the President of the My Brother’s Keeper Nashua Board of Directors and is the alumni chair for the New Hampshire New Leaders Council. She holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University Massachusetts, Dartmouth in North Dartmouth, MA, where she also served as a board member of the school’s Alumni Association.